My Kakarikis don't seem to mates. Please help!

[Niloofar]

Hello to all. I am new here.
I bought a pair of kakarikis from a pet store about 1 month ago, the saleswoman told me that they are about 9 months old, and they have mated and the female has laid eggs before.
I love them very much, they are so sweet but they don't seem to be paired.They usually do everything at the same time (like playing, eating, singing) but I have never seen them kissing or feeding or preening each other.

Another strange fact is that the female was never going inside the nest box until last week. And when she finally went in, she just spent a few minutes there and came out again. (She repeated this several times after that day). However, the male spends a lot of time there and he sleeps there at night.

I went to the pet store and asked the saleswomen if their behavior is normal. she told me that she has had them for 3 days only before selling them to me and she has just heard from the previous owner that they have mated before.

Then she suggested me to bring them back to the pet store for several days to see if any of them pairs with other kakarikis. They have been now there for several days but they don't seem to socialize with any other birds. I go to visit them every day and I see that they are sitting quietly in the back of the aviary (especially the female). They just sit sometimes next to each other but they never really stick together.

They are in an aviary with several other kakarikis and lovebirds and my female bird seems to be scared of the lovebirds.

Now I really don't know what to do. I miss them terribly. On the one hand, I want them to be back home as soon as possible, on the other hand, I am not sure if they are ever going to breed.
My husband says that we'd better change them with another pair of birds as they generally seem to be unsocialized and there is no chance to tame them too. But I have got used to them and I feel they are my babies

Please help me decide. I have no experience with birds. I am not sure if anything is going to change or if they will finally breed someday.

Thank you all in advance

 

[ParrotLover2001]

To me, an unsocialized bird is just as good as a socialized bird. Opal my budgie doesn't like to socialize with me or other birds, unless it's Jordan, her female lovebird "mate" they can't be separated. I love Opal as much as the rest of my flock.

As long as you love them and care for them, I'd say bring them back home. They don't have to breed, and it can't be forced, they are still under a year old and they shouldn't be bred away.

Sent from my Galaxy s8

 

[SailBoat]

At nine months old, no way have they mated or laid eggs!

Maybe a year from now, maybe! But, I would not have my hopes up.

If your goal was to breed, you started out all wrong! And, unless you have a ton of knowledge regarding breeding this species, you may never be successful and if you are, you will not know how to take care of the chicks if your pair hasn't a clue what to do!

Target starting with a single bird. Go for the one that chooses you!

You may want to spend a bunch of time, reading the Forums of the Birds you have an interest in before you return to the bird store. FYI: The individual you talked to doesn't know that much more than you do, if that!

 

[Niloofar]

Thanks for your help guys. In fact, I am not even sure if they are really 9 months old. It seems that I was given wrong information about them being paired. So how can I be sure about their age?
My husband thinks that they are probably older than that as they are apparently larger than the other kakarikis in the aviary (who are 3-4 months old). And I saw the young ones feeding each other. The saleswoman said that they are just young siblings, but I don't think if it really matters whether they are siblings or not, they are doing something that my birds never do!

 

[LordTriggs]

The saleswoman said that they are just young siblings, but I don't think if it really matters whether they are siblings or not, they are doing something that my birds never do!

NEVER BREED SIBLINGS! Even if you only suspect them to be. Would you have a child with your sister? No so why would you even think of making an animal do the same?

I'm going to advise you don't breed birds, you clearly have not even taken a glance at any breeding literature. Birds are expensive to buy because they are hard and expensive to breed. If you could just shove 2 birds in a cage throw some seed at them and get offspring then everyone would breed them, it would literally be easy money.

If you're told they've bred viable offspring are 9 months old and are siblings you've been lied to. 1, why would they sell breeders? They got more young who they can sell. 2. No bird can breed under 1 year old, a kakariki needs to be 2 to breed. 3, siblings rarely give viable offspring and the ones that are viable normally have a slew of health problems.

Without documents there's no way to determine age, only gender and if they are siblings but I suggest before you even think of breeding them that you go and read the entirety of the breeding sub-forum until it is burnt into your mind

 

[Niloofar]

I think there is a misunderstanding. I didn't say that my birds are siblings. I said the other younger kakarikis who were in the aviary with them were siblings (according to the woman) and they were still feeding each other. Mine are said to be paired but they never feed each other.

I know that one should not breed siblings

 

[PetoftheDay]

That pet store seems entirely untrustworthy. They lied to you about them being a breeding pair (as mentioned before they are too young to have bred) and/or their age, and who knows what else.

I would take your birds back from there, and just be happy with taking care of them while you learn about birds. Reading the breeding forum here is a good start. And welcome to ParrotForums.com.

Sadly, some unscrupulous pet store employees will say anything to make a sale. Whether it is ignorance, or bad intent, their information cannot be trusted.

 

[itzjbean]

I encourage you to take them back and simply be happy to have them in your life and enjoy their presence. They are lovely birds just on their own. I know what it feels like to want to breed birds and experience the miracle of life, but you simply can't force birds to do these things. Since you don't know their ages or if they're even male and female for sure, but even if they were not related, male and female, and of age to breed, it can still be so tricky. I got lucky and got a tame, proven pair of cockatiels who turned out to be pretty prolific in laying and raising chicks. But so many problems happen, even in smaller species... you get a runt in the clutch and suddenly its up to you to save its life.

I had to handfeed one to weaning or else it would've died. Luckily I had the experience and knowledge of how to do this, had a separate cage to house him in so he wouldn't get plucked by its parents or siblings anymore and he weaned just fine. But I was ready to step in if the parents were not up to the task of raising their own chicks. Do you have knowledge of hand-feeding, the concept of a brooder, etc? Never take on breeding birds without proper experience first, or you'll have dead babies!

 

[Niloofar]

Thank you all for your perfect advices. I just brought them back home
I can't forget the moment when I went to the pet store to pick her up and she was gazing into my eyes with her face close to mine... I am very happy now that they are back

 

[LordTriggs]

Ah I see got my wires crossed! Apologies, been one of "those" days today and dealing with a lot of people giving out some very silly advice on birds on other places (advising to breed a bird to get it to behave for example)

good to hear you've got them back, you'll probably find they're a bit unnerved by the move to a new home, give them some time and they should start warming up to each other and yourself. I still stand if you do end up breeding to read extensively on breeding to make sure that you keep yours and any babies happy and healthy!

 

[Niloofar]

you'll probably find they're a bit unnerved by the move to a new home

That's what I thought too, but surprisingly, it is vice versa! They seem to be very happy to be back home and they are much less scared of me than before! They don't run away as I get close to them!:13: Interesting!

 

[LordTriggs]

who knows, she did appear to be scared of the lovebirds so maybe they were picking on her

 

[Niloofar]

I would be very grateful if you could take a look at the pictures of the two to see if you can guess their sex. Everyone is saying the green one is male and the yellow one is female.
However, after seeing some pictures of the male and female kakarikis, I started to doubt whether they could be both males. they are almost the same size and the yellow one's beakis smaller than the other one but not that much!

 

[Niloofar]

and here are some single pics of the yellow one

 

[Flboy]

Real cuties! Get a couple branches in their cage, they will appreciate it!

 

[ParrotLover2001]

I have no experience with Kakariki parrots, so I don't know their gender. My guess it to DNA test them.

Sent from my Galaxy s8

 

[LordTriggs]

really there are only 2 ways to 100% tell, either an egg pops out of one or you get a dna test. DNA tests are fairly cheap, especially over in the US

 

[Niloofar]

Real cuties! Get a couple branches in their cage, they will appreciate it!

Thanks a lot :13: they have some.
Guys, you can't believe what I saw today!! I can't believe my eyes!

 

[Niloofar]

Did you notice guys?! They are mating! It just happened all of a sudden!
I don't know what happened to them in the pet store, but since they are back their behavior has totally changed!
I guess I have to expect baby kakas soon!

I have only one nest box. do I need a second one?

 

[LordTriggs]

have you been reading the breeding subforum?

If not then don't let them breed yet, you need to be prepared for everything including being able to hand-feed if the parents reject the babies, which you should have someone with experience show you. Also with the suspicion that they're not even 1 yet having babies could be extremely dangerous for the female (if one is female)